Sally's Upgrade
by ProudDyspraxicWriter
Summary: Something has been plaguing Sally's mind as of late, and she cannot shake it. So she goes to her old creator, Dr. Finkelstein, hoping he has the answer she's looking for.


**This was originally the first chapter of a multi-chapter sequel to the film, but then, I lost all inspiration and couldn't carry on. However, I thought this part was too cute not to share!**

Sally's Upgrade

The large, round yellow moon hung low in the charcoal-black sky that chilly night not long after Christmas. It was deadly quiet in the town of Halloween as its residents slept soundly in their cold and lumpy beds, dreaming of the day they would leap out to terrorise the people of planet Earth. Though in the home of the Pumpkin King and Queen, a dim, flickering light could be seen from the highest window. Sally had been tossing and turning for hours, that one bothersome thought sticking out in her patchwork mind. She looked across the room to the bed where her dear husband, Jack, slumbered. His chest was completely still, the slightest murmurs passing his lips. The young ragdoll-woman smiled sadly to herself. She looked back to the window where she was able to see every nook and cranny of her kingdom, pondering over her thoughts. She'd secretly wanted this one little thing all her life. Then why couldn't she have it?

Removing herself from the bedroom, she silently ran down the spiral staircase, careful not to wake up Jack, and went out in to the coldness of the night. It was a very boring way to sneak out. Sometimes she missed the thrill of poisoning Dr. Finkelstein's soup when she lived with him, but married life was worth it. She didn't walk long until she made it to the scientist's oddly-shaped evil lair. She rang the bell and waited for a moment or two. A cap covering that gigantic head, a blanket over his unworkable legs, the ancient doctor peeked through his tiny spectacles. A disgruntled frown formed on his face.

" Sally!" he croaked in a tone of a mixture of annoyance and surprise. " What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?"

" I'm sorry, doctor," she replied. " I couldn't sleep; I've had a lot on my mind lately. I was hoping you would have the answer."

" That doesn't make it OK to go 'round disturbing sick old men in the middle of the night! Go away and come back in the morning. Better yet; don't come back _at all!_" he roared and slammed the door in her face.

Offended, Sally gave a disgusted squeak and raised her asymmetrical eyebrows. Then an idea came to her as if lightning had struck. She loosened the threads that attached her hands to her wrists. The disembodied hands fell to the ground and began to take a life of their own. Crawling around in a spider-like fashion, they squeezed underneath the crack in the door. On the outside, Sally was moving her arms in a flamboyant manner in order to make the hands move in the right direction. The small hands, with fingers short and stubby, edged towards the doorknob and turned it, letting the Pumpkin Queen inside. Not bothering to sew herself back together, she marched up the ramp and her hands raced faster to stop the wheels of Finkelstein's chair.

" What in blazes?" he grumbled. He gasped in horror when he saw the hands that did not belong to him. He whirled around in his chair and saw his creation standing there with a determined expression on her misshapen face. " How did you get in? Ophelia! Ophelia!" he cried, calling out to his second creation, whom he adored much more.

" I'm not leaving without an answer," said Sally.

" Fine. What is it that you want?" he asked, not really wanting to know.

" I want to be able to bear Jack's baby, but as you know, I don't have any reproductive organs. Would it be possible for you to upgrade me?" she asked, the hopefulness billowing out of her mouth.

The doctor thought for a moment, eyeing the girl suspiciously. " Perhaps…"

Sally sighed in relief and grinned, almost splitting the seams in her cheeks. " Would you? Oh, thank you so much, sir!"

" It should be pretty straightforward. I think I still have your blueprints around here somewhere. Come along," he said, ushering Sally to his laboratory in the basement.

After sewing her hands back on, the ragdoll queen followed her former master to the laboratory; the very place she was created. To Sally, it was nothing new. It hadn't changed much in all the centuries Dr. Finkelstein had been an inhabitant of Halloween Town. There was a tesla coil that sparked furiously and a microscope where a bug was under surveillance. A pile of failed experiments was left discarded in the corner. The disorganised desk was tucked up against the alcove with a number of blueprints that were scattered across it. Finkelstein's ghastly grotesque and unusual designs were indecipherable. In the middle of the room was the table where he did work on his creations. Dr. Finkelstein went over to the desk and sifted through the hundreds of blueprints until he found the one he was looking for.

" Here we are," he muttered as he laid it out for Sally to see. He studied it for what felt like weeks, mumbling and muttering under his breath. " Hmm. Yes." He turned to her. " It just so happens that Igor retrieved a fresh order of female reproductive organs not so long ago."

" So you'll do it?"

Dr. Finkelstein nodded but didn't realise what the consequences would be. Sally cried out with joy and laughed. She leant in, wrapping her arms around the wheelchair-bound old man, giving him the surprise of his life.

" Oh! Oh, Sally!" he cried. He struggled to shove her off. " Sally, that's enough. Sally. _Sally!_" he boomed, startling the euphoric woman.

" Sorry, doctor," she apologised, taking a few steps backwards.

" Sit on the table now, Sally," he said to her, recovering from the hug that was still stinging the upper part of his body.

Sally did as she was told (for once.) Seeing as she couldn't feel any pain, she was conscious during this delicate operation. As the mad scientist opened up her cotton-skin, she lay back her head on the pillow and she prayed for a little baby girl. All she wanted to have was one little girl with hair red as blood and large gaping eye sockets, similar to Jack's.

The operation was finally finished come sunrise. Feeling somewhat different – joyous, rejuvenated, refreshed, alive, whatever! – Sally galloped back to her home, hoping Jack would still be asleep. He wasn't. He was dressed in his usual pinstripe attire, sitting at the breakfast table. As he ate a healthy bowl of scorpion cereal, he intently read the morning paper with Zero by his side. When his pretty, petite wife came through the front door, he looked up and grinned.

" Hey there, beautiful!" he hollered cheerfully. " And what did you get up to last night?" he asked slyly.

" I did something incredibly amazing!" Sally replied. Jack gave a curious expression to show that he was listening. " I had an upgrade."

" An upgrade?" Jack and Zero exchanged identical baffled looks. The little ghost dog made a faint whimper in confusion.

" Yes! I have the ability to have children now," she answered, the excitement welling up inside her. " _We_ can have a baby. That is…if you want to."

The Pumpkin King stood up, tall and proud, approached his wife and hugged her. " Want to? Of course I want to!" He pressed his skeletal mouth against Sally's lopsided lips in a sweet, innocent kiss.


End file.
